Paper roll holder



Dec. 13, 1966 H. w. zlEBARTH PAPER ROLL HOLDER Filed oct. 18, 1985 A 7702MB/ United States Patent Ofiice 3,291,354 PAPER ROLL HOLDER Herbert W. Ziebarth, Seattle, Wash., assignor of onehalf to Emmett A. Ziebarth, Seattle, Wash. Filed Oct. 18, 1965, Ser. No. 497,091 Claims. (Cl. 225-79) This invention relates to a paper roll holder, and, more particularly, to a holder for those paper rolls in which the rolled-up strip is perforated from place to place to provide tear-of lines. Ty'pical of such rolls are those of toilet pape, paper towelling, wiping papers, and the like.

A general object of this invention is to provide a simple, practioal and inex'pensive paper roll holder for uses mentioned that is convenient to operate and which will materially assist, if not insure, that the paper strip be parted as it is unreeled from the roll along one of the perforated lines close to the roll holder.

It has been known in the past to provide holders for rolls of toilet paper and rolls of paper towelling in which rolls, usually wound on paper lcores, are mounted on spindles or trunnions supporting the ends of the roll and in which drags or -brakes have been included to restrain free rotation of the roll. However, such prior devices have not proved fully satisfactory.

Another advantage of this invention is the provision of a simple roll holder which is adapted to avoid overly free unreeling and, thus, unnecessary paper waste or spillage.

Another and important object of the invention is to provide a 'paper roll holder for perforated paper that will facilitate severing the strip at a line of perforation and :at the same time insure that the severance takes place outside of the holder rather than within the holder.

Another and further object of the invention has been to provide a paper roll holder that will operate to sever a strip unreeled from the roll at a point distinctly separated from the surface 'of the roll and not on the roll itself.

And a still further object of the invention is to separate a perforated st'rip of paper unreeled from the roll so that the part left behind remains readily visible and easily grasped for the next use, and the end is not adhering to the roll surface and thus difiicult to grasp manually.

The various objects and advantages of this invention Will become .apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred form of paper roll holder and of the application of the invention t-o such a pa-per roll holder. Other objects and advantages will of course become apparent and understood during the course of the description in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings, showing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a paper roll holder according to this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the paper roll holder of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged Vertical, cross sectional view taken on line 3 -3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken in the 'plane 4-4 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a bar provided to facilitate the parting of a strip of paper unreeled from a roll.

The crux of the invention is to provide and combine with a dispenser fora paper roll, means to facilitate the parting |of a strip of paper unreeled from the roll. Essentially such means comprises a bar fixedly associated with the dispenser and located beneath and behind the roll axis so that a paper strip emanating from the roll at its rear passes the back side of the bar with relation to the bar. Preferably said bar has width suflicient to produce and provide spaced apart first and second parallel strip contacting edges on its back side. The first of the edges of 3291354 Patented Dec. 13, 1966 the bar to be contacted by an unreeling strip is smooth and essentially frictionless. The second of said edges arranged in the following order with respect to the movement of paper there passed is roughened to impart appreci-able friction on a paper strip. The bar is arranged in the holder or dispenser so that the smooth edge is in the normal path of the strip as the same is being unreeled, but the roughened bar edge is located out of said normal path. H-owever, by changing said path of a strip slightly the roughened surface may be contacted to produce stripparting at the usual perforation provided in such stri'ps outward of the bar. The normal path 'of the strip is preferable at a slight downward angle that is steeper than the altered 'or changed path when the roughened portion of the ybar is contacted. Stated conversely, the path of the strip during 'parting is slightly flatter than the normal path.

Another advantage of the bar 30 having a relatively great width as shown is that whenever the perforations being separated by chance are 'close to the bar, the remaining end is most likely not to come out from behind the bar. Thus rethreading may be avoided.

Referring particularly to FIGURES 1 and 3 there is shown a holder adapted to be set into and to form a recess in a wall opening. The holder 10, usually formed of sheet metal by stamping processes, comprises a horizontally concave rear wall 12 having end walls 14 and 16 which defines a recess constituting a portion of a cylinder. A marginal flange 18 outstands around the mouth of the recess, thus defined, in the plane of said mouth and trims the h-older. At each side of the mouth is a bearing 20 and a spindle 22 mounted in the bearings 20, 20 at each of its ends to support the roll of paper 24. An arcuate cover 26 overlies the upper front portion of the roll and is hinged to the dispenser housing at 28 across the upper part of the mouth of the recess defined :by walls 12, 14 and 16.

In the lower portion of the recess closely adjacent the mouth, and generally opposite the location of the hinge 28, is a bar 30 which is preferably broader horizontally than it is thick vertically. Bar 30 has a first or leading edge 32 and a second or trailing edge 34. Edges 32 and 34 are 'parallel to each other and are spaced apart from each other as can `best be seen in FIGURES 3, 4 and 5. The leading or first edge of bar 30 is normally first contacted by a strip of paper 36 as it is unreeled from the back side of roll 24. This can be seen in FIGURE 3 where the strip 36 passing from the roll 24 is shown in solid lines following a path -or course that is outward and downward. The second or trailing edge 34 of bar 30 may be provided with serrations 38 or be otherwise roughened as by etching or stippling.

By reason of the roughened surface 38 when the course of travel of the paper strip 36 is altered from the solid line showing of FIGURE 3 to the dotted line shown therein, that is the somcwhat flatter course of travel, the paper will be caused to contact the roughened bar edge and a braking action will be applied to the paper strip. This is shown in FIGURE 1 where the strip 36 is shown in solid lines somewhat raised relative the dotted line showing and parting of the strip is indicated at that row of perforation most closely adjacent the holder 10 and bar 30.

Bar 30 is shown :as having a fiattened ear 40 on each end. The ears 40 pass through elongated slots or openings 42 in the end walls 14 and 16 opposite each other and hold the bar. Obviously the bar 30 may be otherwise mounted as by welding or riveting commonly practiced to support such a member in a sheet metal housing.

The depending arcuate cover 26 is provided with an instanding flange 44 which bears against the front side or face of the roll 24 and likewise may function as a brake. It is usually desirable that the edge of the instanding flange 44- likewise be roughened or serrated to increase its fric- 3 tional action upon the paper roll and to tend to restrain free rolling thereof. In the even. that the paper roll is installed in the dispenser housing so that the free end unreels from the front of the roll, the restraining action of the roughened edge of bar 44, likewise tends to insure parting of the ipaper strip at a line of perforation closely adjacent the roll 'but outside the holder and with the free end separated from and hanging out of contact with the roll body. It is, however, preferable that the roll be inserted in the manner described so that the paper unreels from the rolFs back side.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention permits modifications in arrangement of parts and in details. All such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the following claims :are to be considered to be a part of the invention here patented. The invention therefore is not to be limited to the exact construction shown and described.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In combination with a dispenser for a paper roll, means to facilitate the parting of a strip unreeled from said roll, comprising:

a bar fixedly associated with the dispenser and located beneath and behind the roll axis so that a paper strip being unreeled from the :rear of a roll passes the back side of said bar relative said roll,

said bar having spaced apart first and second parallel strip-contacting edges on its backside, the first of said edges to be contacted by an unreeling strip being smooth, and the second of said edges being roughened to impart appreciable friction von a paper strip upon contact therewith,

said roughened bar edge being located out of the normal path of the strip as the same is being unreeled, but conta-ctable by said strip upon a fiattening of said path to produce strip-parting outward of said bar.

2. A combination of claim 1 in which the bar roughening comprises serration extending from end-to-end.

3. A combination of claim 1 in which there is roll braking means pivoted from said dispenser above the roll and shaped to bear on the front side of a roll.

4. A combination of claim 3 in which there is an instanding flange on said braking means including a roughened edge there on the front side of said roll.

5. A combination 'of claim 4 in which the roughened edge of said instanding flange includes a row of serration extending from end-to-end of said flange.

No references cited.

WILLIAM W. DYER, JR., Primary Examiner.

JAMES MEISTER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A DISPENSER FOR A PAPER ROLL, MEANS TO FACILITATE THE PARTING OF A STRIP UNREELED FROM SAID ROLL, COMPRISING: A BAR FIXEDLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE DISPENSER AND LOCATED BENEATH AND BEHIND THE ROLL AXIS SO THAT A PAPER STRIP BEING UNREELED FROM THE REAR OF A ROLL PASSES THE BACK SIDE OF SAID BAR RELATIVE SAID ROLL, SAID BAR HAVING SPACED APART FIRST AND SECOND PARALLEL STRIP-CONTACTING EDGES ON ITS BACKSIDE, THE FIRST OF SAID EDGES TO BE CONTACTED BY AN UNREELING STRIP BEING SMOOTH, AND THE SECOND OF SAID EDGES BEING ROUGHENED TO IMPART APPRECIABLE FRICTION ON A PAPER STRIP UPON CONTACT THEREWITH, SAID ROUGHENED BAR EDGE BEING LOCATED OUT OF THE NORMAL PATH OF THE STRIP AS THE SAME IS BEING UNREELED, BUT CONTACTABLE BY SAID STRIP UPON A FLATTENING OF SAID PATH TO PRODUCE STRIP-PARTING OUTWARD OF SAID BAR. 